Not sure which Macbook to buy :) Please help

I saved up money for a couple months hoping to buy a MacBook Pro.
Ill probably use it mostly for basic browsing, music, and im gunna be using it in school alot. Im not a big gamer, but ocasionally I might play some games, or put windows 7 on it so I can play maplestory. Other than that, no high end games. Im not going to buy a brand new one, I was just wondering if I should buy a used/refurbished 2010 April Dual Core i5, or a 2011 February Quad Core i7. I dont think ill need the quad core, or the i7 to do the stuff I need, but it would be nice to have? You know? I dont want to go any older than April 2010 because I heard the Core 2 Duos suck. Any help would be appreciated Thanks guys

Now I also found a July 2011 MacBook Air, Dual Core i7 13.3" 4GB High Resolution screen that is only about 1400, a couple hundred more than a pro I might buy. What do you guys think?

I saved up money for a couple months hoping to buy a MacBook Pro, or Air.
Ill probably use it mostly for basic browsing, music, and im gunna be using it in school alot. Im not a big gamer, but ocasionally I might play some games, or put windows 7 on it so I can play maplestory. Other than that, no high end games. Im not going to buy a brand new one, I was just wondering if I should buy a used/refurbished 2010 April Dual Core i5, or a 2011 February Quad Core i7. I dont think ill need the quad core, or the i7 to do the stuff I need, but it would be nice to have? You know? I dont want to go any older than April 2010 because I heard the Core 2 Duos suck. Any help would be appreciated Thanks guys

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maybe check out the 13" MBA, late 2011..sounds like that might meet your needs or a baseline 13" MBP. hopefully that helped.

Just. Came back from apple store. 13 is nice size but small i think in gunna go 15" now i gotta decide early 2011 or mid 2010. I dont wanna pay for a quad core if i never need it. But would be nice to have. Are the i5's good?

A very nice machine. If the 13" was too small for you, then this is the route I would go if you cannot find a second hand mac elsewhere for under 1k.... Just the ability to get the Apple Care on it is worth the purchase here instead of Joe Blow on Craigslist. I myself went with a 13" MBP because of the need for something more portable, otherwise perhaps this 15" MBP you see would not be available now! Best of luck with your purchase, anything you buy will certainly not disappoint!

A very nice machine. If the 13" was too small for you, then this is the route I would go if you cannot find a second hand mac elsewhere for under 1k.... Just the ability to get the Apple Care on it is worth the purchase here instead of Joe Blow on Craigslist. I myself went with a 13" MBP because of the need for something more portable, otherwise perhaps this 15" MBP you see would not be available now! Best of luck with your purchase, anything you buy will certainly not disappoint!

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Thats what I think too, any mac I buy I wont be dissapointed, I just feel like what I might buy is an overkill. Mostly because ill just do browsing, basic online games, and word stuff, facetime, movies. No big designing or photoshopping or video editing, but like I said it doesnt hurt to have quad core, but I feel like an i5 Dual Core would be fine for me too, if I can save some money. But Ive never had a mac so I dont really know how fast/slow it is or can be.

Thats what I think too, any mac I buy I wont be dissapointed, I just feel like what I might buy is an overkill. Mostly because ill just do browsing, basic online games, and word stuff, facetime, movies. No big designing or photoshopping or video editing, but like I said it doesnt hurt to have quad core, but I feel like an i5 Dual Core would be fine for me too, if I can save some money. But Ive never had a mac so I dont really know how fast/slow it is or can be.

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The money that you will save getting the dual core can be placed in other things that will make the processor work well. Upgrading your 4GB of RAM to 8GB is under 50$. You can also get some SSD drive down the road when prices come down a bit. Essentially becoming the Air, but in a larger form factor. You mentioned that you might be running Win7, so you would need at least a 128GB HD... I went the hybrid route in the Seagate Momentus XT... It is being delivered Tuesday. It was free for me, so I will let check it out.

The money that you will save getting the dual core can be placed in other things that will make the processor work well. Upgrading your 4GB of RAM to 8GB is under 50$. You can also get some SSD drive down the road when prices come down a bit. Essentially becoming the Air, but in a larger form factor. You mentioned that you might be running Win7, so you would need at least a 128GB HD... I went the hybrid route in the Seagate Momentus XT... It is being delivered Tuesday. It was free for me, so I will let check it out.

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I probably wouldnt run windows 7 all the time, just to play online games that dont work for mac yet. (Maplestory) As for upgrading ram and stuff, ive never done that on any computer, I kinda just leave them stock and if it gets slow I just go out and buy a new one. Also I have no Idea what an SSD is, im a computer noob. Im not a big tech head.

Thats what I was thinking too. I feel like a Dual Core i5 would be fine, but if its only 100-200 cheaper, Id rather go the i7 quad core route.

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I need all the power I can get since my work is very resource intense. My 15" mid 2010, i7, 8GB w/ SSD is very nearly as fast as my 15" 2011 quad core i7, 8GB w/ SSD MBP. Only when rendering & doing other demanding work does the 2011 offer an advantage.

The 2010 runs cooler, quieter, and is my favorite by far. Overall a quad core is overkill. Yet that said Intel's got to sell their latest chips. If not for work I would avoid them. MBP's thin form factor does not lend itself well to warm running CPU's.

I need all the power I can get since my work is very resource intense. My 15" mid 2010, i7, 8GB w/ SSD is very nearly as fast as my 15" 2011 quad core i7, 8GB w/ SSD MBP. Only when rendering & doing other demanding work does the 2011 offer an advantage.

The 2010 runs cooler, quieter, and is my favorite by far. Overall a quad core is overkill. Yet that said Intel's got to sell their latest chips. If not for work I would avoid them. MBP's thin form factor does not lend itself well to warm running CPU's.

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So your saying like, the i7 runs hot, so if I like left it on my bed or something it might overheat, were as the dual core i5 stays cooler?

So your saying like, the i7 runs hot, so if I like left it on my bed or something it might overheat, were as the dual core i5 stays cooler?

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If you left in on the bed encoding video, it would heat up. It happens to be the case that I'm laying on my bed right now typing this. I've got about 10 tabs open in Firefox lurking these forums to see which HDs people are liking (thinking about replacing the optical drive with a second HD). I've got Pandora open in one tab, but Flashblock enabled everywhere else. My CPU is at 37C and the laptop is not even warm to the touch. I just picked it up from where is has been sitting for an hour and the bottom feels the same way. I'd even say that it's cool to the touch. It's the exact same model that you linked to above, but I also got the 8GB ram upgrade from OWC.

Before buying, I was asking myself the same question as you, but I have no regrets about going with the i7 quad. Although it's more power than I actually need in a laptop right now, that just means that it will be a very long time before it feels outdated. It's the first laptop I've ever purchased that made me feel that I needed to grow into it, if you know what I mean. That's not a bad thing. I've had very good experience with Apple's refurb page. I purchased my last two computers and iPods that way. All have all been flawless.

If you left in on the bed encoding video, it would heat up. It happens to be the case that I'm laying on my bed right now typing this. I've got about 10 tabs open in Firefox lurking these forums to see which HDs people are liking (thinking about replacing the optical drive with a second HD). I've got Pandora open in one tab, but Flashblock enabled everywhere else. My CPU is at 37C and the laptop is not even warm to the touch. I just picked it up from where is has been sitting for an hour and the bottom feels the same way. I'd even say that it's cool to the touch. It's the exact same model that you linked to above, but I also got the 8GB ram upgrade from OWC.

Before buying, I was asking myself the same question as you, but I have no regrets about going with the i7 quad. Although it's more power than I actually need in a laptop right now, that just means that it will be a very long time before it feels outdated. It's the first laptop I've ever purchased that made me feel that I needed to grow into it, if you know what I mean. That's not a bad thing. I've had very good experience with Apple's refurb page. I purchased my last two computers and iPods that way. All have all been flawless.

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Thats what I said, Ill probably not need the quad core, but will be nice in the future when I feel like if I had the i5 dual core, it would be outdated. Im so confused on why that refurb is only 1400 lol

Thats what I said, Ill probably not need the quad core, but will be nice in the future when I feel like if I had the i5 dual core, it would be outdated. Im so confused on why that refurb is only 1400 lol

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the upgrade to an i7, as well as going dual to quad means that you'll definitely get a year or two more out of the laptop before it becomes unbearably slow. and i wouldn't worry about the quad being too hot- the one on my 17" (2720- so it's 2.2 GHz) tends to stay under 40C at idle, and under 55-60C with light loads (most loads that aren't gaming end up being light loads).

Based on your stated usage there's absolutely no possible way you need a quad core now or in the next few years. If however you like spending money for no particular reason. Then buy the most expensive fully loaded new Mac now. That should provide you with the satisfaction you seek.

If however you like spending money for no particular reason. Then buy the most expensive fully loaded new Mac now. That should provide you with the satisfaction you seek.

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The one that he is looking at is the cheapest 15 inch MPB that you can currently purchase from Apple. It's a refurb from last February. It's protected for a year. It's not his fault that it happens to be a 15 inch i7 quad priced less than the current model 13 inch i7 dual.

Your statement does that actually, or at least you need to read closer... I never said anything about it being slow in a few years. By a year or two longer, I was implying the computer last 6-7 years instead of 5-6. Please don't jump to conclusions.

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